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SKorean beef protesters pack Seoul streets
2008-06-10
Tens of thousands of flag-waving South Koreans packed central Seoul Tuesday, demanding the scrapping of an agreement to resume US beef imports and the resignation of new President Lee Myung-Bak. The entire cabinet earlier offered to quit to take responsibility for weeks of turmoil over the deal, which opponents say exposes Koreans to the risk of mad cow disease. But demonstrators pressed on with their largest protest to date. Police erected greased barricades of shipping containers in the heart of the capital to block access to government buildings and the presidential palace. They said an estimated 100,000 protesters were on the streets of Seoul, while 62,000 were demonstrating in provincial cities. However, Yonhap news agency early Wednesday reported that more than a dozen protesters had managed to climb on top of the barricades and waved banners, including the national flag. It said they used styrofoam stairs to climb on top of the containers, which were placed at the landmark Sejonro Intersection, about a kilometre (0.6 miles) from the presidential Blue House. The move came after scuffles erupted among protesters with no serious injuries reported as they debated for hours whether to override safety concerns, Yonhap said. The protesters marched in the streets after candlelight rallies. Police reported no clashes or violence. Among those in Seoul were about 50 mothers, some pushing baby strollers and chanting, "Down with Lee Myung-Bak." "I am not interested in politics but in the health of our family," said Lee Sun-Hee, a 32 year-old housewife. Police said some 37,000 riot police were mobilised, 20,000 of them in the capital. "Today's protests are to pass judgement on the Lee Myung-Bak government which keeps ignoring people's demands despite a month of candlelit protests," said activist spokesman Park Won-Suk. The US and South Korean governments say the risk of the human form of mad cow disease is virtually non-existent, but they have failed to persuade thousands of Korean consumers. Lee, a conservative former business executive elected last December by a record margin, admitted as such. "We will be more humble in listening to the people and serve them with all our might," the president, whose approval ratings have tumbled below 20 percent, promised Tuesday. Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo and the cabinet offered their resignations to Lee ahead of the mass protest. A presidential spokesman said no decision had been made yet about ministerial changes and the current cabinet would stay in office for the time being. Yonhap said Lee was expected to replace four or five ministers as he grapples with the backlash over his April agreement to resume US beef imports, which were halted in 2003 over mad cow fears. Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-Chun, whose job is said by local media to be on the line, pushed through the crowds to reach the speakers' podium in Seoul. He said he wanted to apologise to people and explain the government's position. But protest organisers pushed him away and crowds called him a "traitor." Lee is seeking to modify the beef deal but says he cannot renegotiate it, as protesters demand, since this would jeopardise US approval of a separate free trade pact. US legislators have warned they will not ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) unless Seoul first opens its beef market. Beef protesters have been joined by left-leaning opponents of the broader trade deal and by critics of Lee's market-friendly economic reform agenda. "Let's march together until the Lee Myung-Bak government accepts our demands," said movie actress Moon So-Ri. "By pushing for the beef deal, he shows us that the FTA is an unfair agreement." The radical Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said 100,000 of its members would take part in Tuesday's rallies, before voting on whether to launch an indefinite walkout next week. Lee won power with pledges to revitalise the economy but has been grappling with soaring oil and raw material prices. "Under the volcano of mass protests lies huge magma -- public anger over economic instability and Lee's shaky leadership," said Choi Jin of the Institute of Presidential Leadership. Seoul has sought to ease anger by delaying the resumption of imports and calling on Washington not to export beef from cattle more than 30 months old, seen as more vulnerable to possible infection.
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